Ross Fire in North Texas Reaches 100% Containment After 90,000-Acre Run
The Ross Fire near Palo Pinto, Texas burned about 90,000 acres and destroyed at least 167 structures before crews fully contained it on Sept. 16.
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In 2025, fire departments serving Merkel responded to 76 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 67% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
235 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $259K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 39 | — | |
| 2022 | 39 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 61 | +56.4% | |
| 2024* | 20 | — | |
| 2025 | 76 | — |
* Well below Merkel's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 12 building fires Merkel departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 48 building fires investigators classified across 2021–2025. The room or location where ignition occurred — kitchens, bedrooms, exterior, vehicle areas — tells you where to focus prevention.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 10 | 20.8% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 14.6% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 6 | 12.5% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 3 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Other | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 10.4% |
NFIRS Heat Source (HEAT_SOURC) — the physical thing that started it. Spark or ember from operating equipment, an open flame, smoking materials, or hot embers from a fireplace are the leading culprits nationwide. Here's the Merkel mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 25 | 52.1% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 8.3% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 3 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 6.2% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Merkel sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 289,228 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 122,500 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 72,473 | 37.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20,200 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 14,513 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,075 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,040 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,022 | 35.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,880 | 19.3 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,808 | 13.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3,271 | 13.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,056 | 34.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,026 | 13.0 mi |
Top 2 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Texas cities with population within ±25% of Merkel. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Merkel.
A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.
Numbers reflect incidents reported by participating fire departments to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) Public Data Release for calendar year 2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Per-capita comparisons use 2023 ACS population estimates. Wildland fire data complements NFIRS with NIFC and USFS perimeters. Active-fire counts come from a dated NIFC snapshot, not a live feed.